Sleek MakeUP Acid Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Sleek MakeUP Acid Eyeshadow Palette ($11.99 for 0.36 oz.) consists of twelve eyeshadows with a neon theme. This palette has been restricted for purchase through Sleek MakeUP directly due to the neon pigments used in some of the eyeshadows, as they are not FDA approved for use on the immediate eye area. Sleek MakeUP is a UK-based brand, and the palette and its shades are considered eye-safe in the EU and Canada. At present, I didn’t see any information indicating any of this or that it might not be deliverable to the U.S.; I was able to get all the way to payment info and didn’t see anything rejecting me, but it might happen on the final step.

With Urban Decay’s Electric Palette due out next week, I thought now would be a good time to review this palette from Sleek. There is slight overlap (Savage and Jilted), but there are some differences as well; I think if you’re looking for more of a genuinely neon and matte palette, the Acid palette is a better option, though I’m not keen on the quality of the palette. The quality of the Acid palette is more hit or miss with the more matte, neon-hued shades–they have a chalkier texture that prevents them from binding and yielding really good pigmentation. The more frosted, shimmery shades are really lovely to work with, as they have almost creamy textures and fantastic color payoff.

Acid #2 is a neutral-to-warm white with a matte finish. The texture was somewhat dry and stiff to work with, which resulted in semi-sheer color payoff. It wore well for six and a half hours before it started to fade. As it is a basic shade, there are plenty of variations available — see comparison swatches.

Acid #3 is a bright pop of neon yellow–think highlighter yellow–that leans almost a little green-ish. It had a matte finish with semi-sheer color payoff. It pops a lot more if patted over a white base, but the chalky, powdery texture keeps it from being easily used on its own or over a regular primer. This shade stains somewhat, and it lasts about seven hours before there’s noticeable fading and light creasing. MAC Bright Yellow (P, $15.00) is warmer, more muted. Inglot #370 (P, $6.00) is warmer. See comparison swatches.

Acid #5 is a vibrant, medium-dark cornflower blue with a frosted finish. It had excellent color payoff, and the texture was soft and buttery. This shade wore well for eight and a half hours. Tarina Tarantino Violet Storm #3 (LE) is less frosted, so it appears darker. See comparison swatches.

Acid #6 is a light-medium, sky blue with a glittery, frosted finish. The texture was chunky, so it didn’t apply smoothly, though it still managed to have fairly good pigmentation. It wore well for about eight hours, but I had noticeable fall out. NARS South Pacific #2 (P, $24.00) is more muted, less frosted. MAC Styledriven (P, $21.00) is lighter, less frosted. MAC Divine Blue (LE, $19.50) is more muted. Make Up For Ever #25 (P, $23.00) is a cream product, less glittery. See comparison swatches.

Acid #9 is a neon magenta with cool undertones and a matte finish. The texture was dry, chalky, and powdery, and the resulting color payoff was semi-sheer and uneven, which made this shade difficult to use. It will stain the skin, and it wears seven hours before I noticed some fading and creasing. Urban Decay Savage (P) is very similar. MAC Magenta Madness (LE, $21.00) is slightly darker. Sugarpill Dollipop (P, $12.00) is more muted, less magenta. Make Up For Ever #75 (P, $20.00) is darker. See comparison swatches.

Acid #10 is a neon, light-medium green with a matte finish. Unfortunately, the texture was dry and chalky, which meant the pigmentation was semi-sheer and less blendable. The color managed to stay on for about seven hours, but it also stained. MAC Wondergrass (LE, $15.00) is darker, more muted, shimmery. Illamasqua Fledgling (P) is much darker. See comparison swatches.

Acid #11 is a medium, cool-toned silver-shimmered gray with a frosted finish. It had good color payoff, and the texture was fairly smooth but a little dry. It wore well for eight hours before lightly creasing. Another more basic shade with lots of similar shades — see comparison swatches.

Acid #12 is a deep, dark black with a matte finish and subtle warm undertones. It was soft, though powdery, so it was more blendable and buildable in color. It wore well for almost nine hours before starting to fade along the edges. Like the white eyeshadow in the palette, it’s a basic shade, so you’ll find plenty of options available — see comparison swatches.

The Glossover

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Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

Where to Buy

This product can be purchased at the following retailers:

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

Product

Pigmentation

Texture

Longevity

Application

Where to Buy

This product can be purchased at the following retailers:

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

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I think UD did a really excellent job making the “mattes” in their palette a lot more pigmented, softer, and easier to use. I know that the majority aren’t true mattes (you can see some fine shimmer in the pan), but they pretty much act as mattes applied.

I rather have a not-quite-matte that is very pigmented and easy to use than a true matte that is patchy and a mess! Given how difficult neons are, I think UD made the right call going in the direction they did.

Those were my thoughts when I initially tested UD’s palette — “OH, this IS an improvement over past neon mattes!” Honestly, once applied and you’re not taking macro shots of your eye, it’s very, very hard to tell they’re not matte.

I have this palette and I agree with your observations on the chalkiness of the neon colours. Apart from the blues and the grey, I find this palette unusuable. However, it did come in handy when I was doing some craft recently on white bristol-board and couldn’t find any paint so used the neon colours instead. Talk about repurposing!

Glad I wasn’t alone! I know a lot of people rave about this one, and you can definitely get some use out of it if you use something like NYX Milk as a base, but it was nowhere near the quality of other Sleek palettes.

I heard a lot about it before, but I was disappointed in general. I love some of the frosts, but the neon shades were almost as frustrating to use as MAC’s neon pigments (these are more frustrating because they’re loose).

Are all of the sleek palettes not approved by the FDA or just this one? I’m not a neon wearer, but I love the look and price of some of the other Sleek palettes. I don’t remember you mentioning any FDA issues with those.Allison Recently Posted: Radical Skincare Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads

Some are, some aren’t! I know for sure Acid isn’t, and I believe Ultra Matte V1 and V2. They used to have this written on their website so it was clearer what could/couldn’t be ordered – Illamasqua also has shades that you can buy from their UK site but not if you are in the U.S.

Oh bummer. It was the Ultra Matte palettes that I was interested in. Thanks, Christine. I will go to the website and check it out. I have dry eye issues so I don’t really want to take a chance on something that’s not FDA approved unfortunately.Allison Recently Posted: Radical Skincare Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads

Such a shame on the formula! I feel like Sleek may have been over-hyped in the blogging/vlogging community, with so many people praising the texture and pigmentation of their shadows.. This palette and the Bad Girl palette were rather high on my list. Oh well!

I think that Sleek generally does have some great quality stuff but everything isn’t perfect, obviously. I have the Oh So Special palette and that has some gorgeous eyeshadows, but two of the mattes (black and white) need some layering. It’s still a brilliant palette though, especially if you consider that it’s a drugstore brand.

Wow, super disappointing color payoff for the majority of this palette… I haven’t been a big fan of Sleek eyeshadows in the past, but I was sort of hoping for a passable alternative to the Urban Decay Electric palette. Can’t see myself shelling out $50 for a neon palette that would only get used occasionally, but I was interested in a $12 alternative… I guess it’s back to the drawing board!

Great timing, like you mentioned, the UD electric palette is probably going to sell like crazy. Would be nice to have a cheaper similar product. But I guess you get what you pay for. Acid #5 came out pretty well!

I made a mental note on ud electric that it looked like something sleek would make (In a snotty mental voice of course). I had no idea there really was a similar sleek palette lol! It’s a shame this one didn’t pan out. It would have been a good alternative.

I have this palette (along with several others from the brand) and I agree wholeheartedly with your review. This is by far my least favourite sleek palette. Sleek does great shimmer and glitter shades overall but I find the mattes in this palette leave soo much to be desired. Even the powdery mattes in the Ultra Mattes v1 brights palette perform (in my opinion) better. Such a shame – as the colours are so awesome!! My favourite sleek eyeshadow palettes that I own have to be the Au Naturel, the Sparkle 2, the Storm palette and my all time favourite, Jewels (one I bought in like 2007/08 and which seems to have been discontinued but was complete and utter awesome sauce!!!)

I have this palette. I really like it because of the colors (they are so fun to play around with and do crazy looks!) but at the same time I also dislike it because of the fall out and the chalkiness of some of the shades.

For the LONGEST time (since I first saw Klaire De Lys use it in a video back in… 2010?), I’ve wanted this palette and Sleek would **NEVER** ship it to the States because of the lack of FDA approval/review. (The FDA hasn’t really bothered to check on neon pigments and glitter actually!) They claimed it was “banned.” It seems like they changed their minds on halting shipping finally. :/ When I put in my address on the site as a test, it didn’t stop me from getting the payment page however. I already have Tako from Sugarpill so the white is no big deal and I don’t mind using NYX’s Milk to amp these up. The yellow being a fail doesn’t bother me–yellow isn’t my color. I can’t really easily afford Electric and while there are less expensive indie options that perform well, I’d kind of prefer this. I like having my eyeshadow in decently-sized palettes, even if it looks a little cheapy.Danielle Recently Posted: Hair Update: The Road to Going Blonde, Pt. 2

I’m glad this one might end up working out for you, Danielle! I think UD’s palette is better, but it’s four times the price, and unless you’re rocking the neons on the daily, this might be worth it (especially if you’re willing to use NYX Milk and some elbow grease, lol!).

Plus, I’ve used this on my eyes NUMEROUS times without any problems. Usually I just get a little bit of staining on my lid (which happens with about 95% of pink/red eyeshadows I use) so it isn’t a big deal, and usually fades away within a day or so, and can be covered up fairly easily with other shadows.

I’ve had this palette for a while now but used it very rarely. Its just nice to have a fun, colorful palette for the times you feel like going a little bold with your look! My favorite shade is Acid #8, it looks really pretty as a wash all over the lid paired with a coral/orange lip!Ankita Recently Posted: Shiseido Sheer and Perfect Foundation : Review

Electric palette here I come! Really can’t wait for it. I have bought 3 of these acid palettes over several years, and they’ve never improved. But a long time ago, before sugarpill and such, these were the only neons around.

Wow, three of them! I think for someone who just wants to try neons and knows they’re unlikely to use ‘em more than once in a great while, it’s probably worth the extra work to save some money. But otherwise, I would try a different Sleek palette or try MUFE/Sugarpill/UD.

These colors are so pretty and fun, even though the performance isn’t quite ideal. Personally, I wouldn’t get tons of use from these neon shades, but I still love Sleek for creating this palette and making it affordable. I’ve been pretty impressed with the palettes I’ve used from themCatherine Recently Posted: ZOYA Nail Lacquer in London

I ordered 5 of their palettes in January (during their free worldwide shipping event) including the Acid palette. It took about three weeks to arrive via Royal Post and I had to pick it up at the post office but it did not have any problems coming through. I live in San Diego.

So unless something has changed in the last couple months order with confidence. They do a great job packing as well.

I have this palette and haven’t had too much trouble with it, I just sort of pack the neons on a little more than I would any other eyeshadow. I use the bright shades quite sparingly in a look and I’ve never done an all-over neon look with this palette. Works fine for me on top of UDPP or Nyx Milk pencil. I think it’s a good palette to have if you don’t use colors like this very often and don’t mind putting in a little more effort to make it work.